Early Life of Tony Blair

I figured I would start with Tony Blair’s early life. As in, his life before he became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1997 and Leader of the Labour Party in 2004.

Tony Blair was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on May 6, 1953. He is the younger of two sons. Tony spent the first 19 months of his life in Edinburgh but would spend the next 4 years of his childhood in South Australia where his father taught at the University of Adelaide. Tony would spend the rest of his childhood in Durham, England where his father lectured at Durham University.

After attending Chorister school in Durham, Tony went on to attend Fettes College, a prestigious boarding school, where he would meet Charlie Falconer, whom he later appointed to Lord Chancellor. What I find really interesting, and not well known, is that after Fettes College, Tony Blair lived in London for a year where he tried to find fame and fortune as a rock music promoter, even playing guitar and singing in a band himself. What else is neat, is that he did stand up comedy as well during this time. During this time, Tony Blair met fellow student and Anglican priest, Peter Thomson, who awakened his religious faith and left-wing politics. Tony’s mother died of cancer while he was attending Oxford, something that deeply affected him for years. After graduating from Oxford in 1975, Blair became a member of Lincoln’s Inn, enrolled as a pupil barrister, and met his future wife, into Cherrie Booth.

Around this time is when Tony joined the Labour party. And then in 1982, he was elect the conservative seat of Beaconsfield. In 1987, Tony was elected to the Shadow Cabinet. And in 1994, when John Smith, his predecessor, died of a Heart Attack, Tony was the clear choice for the Labour leadership role.

Tony Blair had an extremely interesting life and it’s strange sometimes how the smallest of events can dictate your fate. Imagine being in your twenties, in 1970’s London, playing in a rock group and making appearances as a stand-up comic. The last thing on your mind would be, how do I become the Labour party leader, and even further from your mind would be, how do I become Prime Minister of England. Tony is just a guy that puts his best foot every day and lets life take him where it may. I think we all have a lot to learn from Tony Blair and I think that we should all be happy that he took the path that he did otherwise he could be working at my brothers Pool Deck Remodeling companies.